ISMP Canada – Safety Bulletin – Intravenous Medication Safety: A Multi-Incident Analysis
Intravenous Medication Safety: A Multi-Incident Analysis
Administration of medication by the intravenous (IV) route is ubiquitous in hospital practice. This route of administration is often used for several high- alert medications that bear a heightened risk of causing significant patient harm when used in error. The need for improvements to the medication-use process, predicated on an awareness of the risk of IV medication-related harm, is an important step toward system-level changes. A multi-incident analysis was conducted to inform the future direction of medication safety efforts specifically targeting administration by the IV route. Listen to the Synopsis … | Read more …
SafeMedicationUse.ca Consumer Newsletter Synopsis:
How Much Iron Is in Here?
SafeMedicationUse.ca received a report from a patient who almost took 10 times the amount of iron that was prescribed for her. Her doctor recommended that she take 300 mg daily. The label on the iron product showed the iron content as “35 mg”, so she calculated that she needed to take 9 or 10 tablets every day. Fortunately, she contacted her pharmacy to ask for more information. She learned that the 35 mg on the product label referred to elemental iron, and the 300 mg recommended dose referred to the iron salt. Read more …
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Canadian Medication Incident Reporting and Prevention System (CMIRPS)
CMIRPS is a national voluntary medication incident and ‘near miss’ reporting program founded for the purpose of sharing the learning experiences from medication errors. Implementation of preventative strategies and system safeguards to decrease the risk for error-induced injury and thereby promote medication safety in healthcare is our collaborative goal. Read more …
Medication incidents (including near misses) can be reported to ISMP Canada
(i) through the website: www.ismp-canada.org/err_index.htm
(ii) by telephone: 416-733-3131 or toll free: 1-866-544-7672.
ISMP Canada guarantees confidentiality and security of information received, and respects the wishes of the reporter as to the level of detail to be included in publications.
Institute for Safe Medication Practices Canada (ISMP Canada)
4711 Yonge Street, Suite 501, Toronto, ON, M2N 6K8
Telephone: 416-733-3131 or 1-866-544-7672 (1-866-54-ISMPC)
Email: cmirps@ismp-canada.org